News and Views

Abstract

THE Government scheme for linking up the Dominions with Great Britain by radio telegraphy has now been completed by the opening of tho short wave peam stations to India, The fact that the Indian beam station can work at high speed continuously for many hours during the monsoon period shows that tha beam receiving aerials are little affected by atmospheries. Tho English transmitting station is at Grimsby and the receiving station is at Skegness, which are both in direct communication with the Central Telegraph Office of the G.P.O in London. The corresponding transmitting and receiving stations in India are at Kirkee, near Poona, and Dhond, 48 miles east of Poona, which are both linked directly with Bombay. Transmission from Grimsby to India takes place on wave-lengtbs of 16.2 and 34.5 metres (about 18,500 and 8700 kilocycles per second respectively). At Grimsby a five-mast aerial system, quite distinct from the three-mast aerial system of the Australian service, has been built. The masts are 277 feet in height with a distance of 650 foot between them. They are erected in a straight line which cuts at right angles the great circle passing through Grimsby and Dhond. Tho reflector behind the active aerials focusses the waves in a south-easterly direction oil to the receiving aerials in India. A similar system has been built at Kirkee to concentrate the waves in a north-westerly direction towards England. Within a few weeks' time tbe Marconi Company will inaugurate a commercial beam radio service between Great Britain and South America and also one with tho United States. Experiments have proved that it is possible to carry on radio telephony simultaneously with high-speed radio telegraphy. Tbere is every t prospect, therefore, that before the end of next year, it will be possible for telephone subscribers in England to call up subscribers in any of the Dominions overseas.